This excellent multimedia website is packed with information about Australia's rainforests (including the Daintree) in the wet tropics region of Queensland. Explore the three units of work written for children. Find the library icon on the left side of the page to explore primary sources such as newspaper articles, sound files of animal noises, videos (Click on the 'Rainforest Use' video to hear what different people think about how rainforests should be used), clip art and rainforest images. Also, notice how the web address has 'gov.au' in it, which means the site is made by the Australian government and the information can be trusted.
Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops
earth.google.com/gallery/kmz/surui_tour.kmz (Enter this web address into Google and press enter)
Led by Chief Almir Surui, the indigenous Surui tribe of the Amazon rainforest tell a story of how the forest is their livelihood in this Google Earth tour. Take notice of the large areas of cleared rainforest for farming surrounding the protected Surui land. Click on 'Tour' on the left-hand side of the page to start your journey. Skip the youtube videos embedded in the tour which do not help you in your research.
This interactive website takes you on a journey through the layers of the Amazon rainforest. Jungle Journey is a good place to start researching the structure of a rainforest. As you see an animal in the jungle, click on it to read information about it. Not only and you see and learn about the unique animals in this environment but you can also hear the noises of the rainforest!
Mongabay is a site which aims to raise awareness in wildlife and wildlands, such as tropical rainforests, while promoting awareness of environmental issues. Don't be distracted by the advertising you will see on this site. Mongabay is owned by one man, Rhett Butler and advertising is how he raises money to keep the site going. Rhett has placed all the photos under a creative commons license which lets you copy and use them as long as you don't take the Mongabay logo off the photo.
Rainforest Heroes is a site which asks children to do something about the conservation of rainforests globally. This website is the children's part of the Rainforest Action Network. Start by clicking the link 'About Rainforests' and watching the video. Then explore the ways you can help save rainforests. Do you think eating less red meat will really help save rainforests? Are all the suggestions on this site to save rainforests good ideas?
The Ngadjonji were the original (Aboriginal) inhabitants of the rainforest country around Malanda in far north Queensland. This site was created by a Ngadjonji woman talking to elders (old) people about what they remember from years ago and that means it is a primary source and very good for researching. This site was made as a record of their history and culture for young people to read. Take time to look at the photographs and read the stories of these people.
Best of Australia: Wet Tropics (DVD)
This DVD will take you on a journey through different tropical rainforests of northern Queensland including the Daintree. You will meet local people who will show you plants and animals and beautiful scenery of the area. You will also hear from the region's traditional custodians (Aboriginal people of the land) and learn about their culture. The scene select feature at the beginning of the DVD will show you a map and let you select what region of the wet tropics you wish to watch and learn about. What is the aim of the video? Is it to educate or to encourage tourism? Look at who sponsored (helped pay) for the video to help you decide.
Kids Click! is a web search site for kids made by librarians. Notice that each site is summarised and gives you information on what grades are best for reading the site and if the site has many illustrations. Use the 'Key Term' pathfinder page to help you with search terms. Use Kids Click to search for more information using the search term 'rainforest', then search the term 'rainforests'. Are the search results the same?
Below is a list of websites, a DVD and a web search site which you will find very useful in your research on rainforests. Good luck!
Rainforest Explorer (Grades 4-7)
http://www.wettropics.gov.au/st/rainforest_explorer/4/401unique/401mainframe.htm
This excellent multimedia website is packed with information about Australia's rainforests (including the Daintree) in the wet tropics region of Queensland. Explore the three units of work written for children. Find the library icon on the left side of the page to explore primary sources such as newspaper articles, sound files of animal noises, videos (Click on the 'Rainforest Use' video to hear what different people think about how rainforests should be used), clip art and rainforest images. Also, notice how the web address has 'gov.au' in it, which means the site is made by the Australian government and the information can be trusted.
Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops
earth.google.com/gallery/kmz/surui_tour.kmz (Enter this web address into Google and press enter)
Led by Chief Almir Surui, the indigenous Surui tribe of the Amazon rainforest tell a story of how the forest is their livelihood in this Google Earth tour. Take notice of the large areas of cleared rainforest for farming surrounding the protected Surui land. Click on 'Tour' on the left-hand side of the page to start your journey. Skip the youtube videos embedded in the tour which do not help you in your research.
Jungle Journey
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/fun/deepjungle.swf
This interactive website takes you on a journey through the layers of the Amazon rainforest. Jungle Journey is a good place to start researching the structure of a rainforest. As you see an animal in the jungle, click on it to read information about it. Not only and you see and learn about the unique animals in this environment but you can also hear the noises of the rainforest!
Mongabay
http://www.mongabay.com
Mongabay is a site which aims to raise awareness in wildlife and wildlands, such as tropical rainforests, while promoting awareness of environmental issues. Don't be distracted by the advertising you will see on this site. Mongabay is owned by one man, Rhett Butler and advertising is how he raises money to keep the site going. Rhett has placed all the photos under a creative commons license which lets you copy and use them as long as you don't take the Mongabay logo off the photo.
Rainforest Heroes
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?www=http%3A//www.ran.org/ran/kids_action/index1.html&itemid=20000502100710371336
Rainforest Heroes is a site which asks children to do something about the conservation of rainforests globally. This website is the children's part of the Rainforest Action Network. Start by clicking the link 'About Rainforests' and watching the video. Then explore the ways you can help save rainforests. Do you think eating less red meat will really help save rainforests? Are all the suggestions on this site to save rainforests good ideas?
The Ngadjonji
http://www.ngadjonji.bigpondhosting.com/default.html
The Ngadjonji were the original (Aboriginal) inhabitants of the rainforest country around Malanda in far north Queensland. This site was created by a Ngadjonji woman talking to elders (old) people about what they remember from years ago and that means it is a primary source and very good for researching. This site was made as a record of their history and culture for young people to read. Take time to look at the photographs and read the stories of these people.
Best of Australia: Wet Tropics (DVD)
This DVD will take you on a journey through different tropical rainforests of northern Queensland including the Daintree. You will meet local people who will show you plants and animals and beautiful scenery of the area. You will also hear from the region's traditional custodians (Aboriginal people of the land) and learn about their culture. The scene select feature at the beginning of the DVD will show you a map and let you select what region of the wet tropics you wish to watch and learn about. What is the aim of the video? Is it to educate or to encourage tourism? Look at who sponsored (helped pay) for the video to help you decide.
Kids Click! (Searchable directory)
http://kidsclick.org/
Kids Click! is a web search site for kids made by librarians. Notice that each site is summarised and gives you information on what grades are best for reading the site and if the site has many illustrations. Use the 'Key Term' pathfinder page to help you with search terms. Use Kids Click to search for more information using the search term 'rainforest', then search the term 'rainforests'. Are the search results the same?